NEC used Mnyika’s laptops to tally votes- witness

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Ubungo legislator John Mnyika

Hawa Ng’umbi, who is contesting the parliamentary election victory of Mnyika in 2010 for Ubungo constituency testified on Wednesday before a noisy and fully packed high court.”From October 31 to November 1, 2010, John Mnyika brought to the tallying hall his personal laptop computers to be used by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).

“According to election laws, only computers from NEC  are supposed to be used for tallying results and not those of candidates,” Ng’umbi told the court.When asked by the defence lawyer, Issa Maige, as to how using a candidate’s personal computers would affect election results, Ng’umbi said that the computers were not checked by NEC officials and might have had software that could have been easily manipulated to favour Mnyika.

She also told the court that there were 14,854 votes unaccounted for that she believes were added to Mnyika’s to enable him win the elections.Ms Ng’umbi testified that she got 50,544 votes while Mnyika got 66,742 and 2,184 votes were spoilt while other candidates got 353.

“However, there were 15,207 votes that have not been accounted for and when you subtract 353 votes you are left with 14,854 that are ghost votes,” explained Ng’umbi.”It is very possible that other candidates’ votes were added to Mnyika’s name,” she confidently told the court.

Ms Ng’umbi also claimed that during campaigns on September 11, 2010 Mnyika defamed her by claiming that she is corrupt.”In the elections, Mnyika when campaigning at River Side area told voters at a public rally that I had illegally sold a building belonging to my party Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s women wing (UWT), allegations that affected my elections,” she testified.

She said that during the tallying of the results there were some election result forms that had no actual results and others did not display spoilt votes and because of that she refused to sign them.”I beg the court to order another election because in 2010, election procedures were flouted,” pleaded Ng’umbi.

During the cross-examination, Principal State Attorney Jostus Mlokozi told the court that by her refusing to sign the election result forms she had given an opportunity for other people to alter the results.When asked as to why she had not complained during the election about the problems, Ng’umbi responded that she had taken note of the faults so that she would use them later during the case.

The defence told the court that Ng’umbi had been questioned by Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) concerning the selling of the UWT building which she agreed to have had happened.This was when the court erupted with noisy, thus forcing Judge Upendo Msuya to call for order in the court. The case was adjourned to today for another hearing.

By JULIUS BWAHAMA, Tanzania Daily News

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